ST. THOMAS — A man died in St. Thomas during a bike accident on the Weymounth Rhymer Highway in the vicinity of Cost-U-Less Sunday evening.
According to V.I.P.D. Public Information Officer Glen Dratte, the incident occurred at about 6:46 p.m. The biker was heading east when he collided with a white Kia caravan that was headed west in the turn lane to the movie theater.
The deceased, whose identity was withheld pending next of kin notification, was said to be 30 years old.
The intersection where the accident occurred had stoplights, but they were destroyed following Hurricane Irma in St. Thomas. Two years later, the area remains without stoplights. In a release issued Sunday night, Senator Donna Frett-Gregory blasted the Department of Public Works for its failure to install working traffic lights at the critical intersection.
Despite assurances to the contrary, the Department of Public Works has failed to adhere to its own timeline to restore damaged traffic signals at heavily traveled intersections throughout the territory, Mrs. Frett-Gregory said.
“We are days away from the start of the new school year,” she said. “Our children’s safety and that of the public is further compromised by missing traffic signals once the flow of traffic increases.”
According to the release, a timeline that D.P.W. Commissioner Nelson Petty Jr. shared with the senator in mid-July detailed that traffic signal restoration work would begin on lower Main Street the week of July 26. Restoration of the traffic signal at Market Square East should have taken place the week of July 29-August 2, according to the timeline.
“We are now outside these timeframes. At a minimum, updates should be given to the community on the status of the traffic signals at these major intersections,” Mrs. FrettGregory said. “I am urging VIPD and Public Works to advise the motoring public of the driving conditions as schools reopen territory-wide.”
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